The Sixer Sense
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Philadelphia 76ers May Need to Find Lesser of Two Deficiencies

By Josh Wilson

March 24, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Brandon Ingram (14) reacts during the 82-68 loss against Oregon Ducks during the second half of the semifinal game in the West regional of the NCAA Tournament at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports
March 24, 2016; Anaheim, CA, USA; Duke Blue Devils guard Brandon Ingram (14) reacts during the 82-68 loss against Oregon Ducks during the second half of the semifinal game in the West regional of the NCAA Tournament at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers have a big decision with the top overall draft pick: Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram. Each has their own large deficiency.

With the top overall pick in the NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers have a huge task in front of them. Last year, it was the Minnesota Timberwolves winning the top overall pick, and they had a similar issue. They had to choose between Karl-Anthony Towns and Jahlil Okafor, ultimately taking Towns. Okafor fell to the Sixers at third overall, and the rest is history.

This year, the Sixers have to choose between Ben Simmons out of LSU and Brandon Ingram out of Duke. Both spent one year at their respective universities, and both are projected to be solid NBA players wherever they end up.

There are two obvious choices, and because of that, the fans have been divided into two camps: Team Simmons and Team Ingram. This is reminiscent of other Sixers topics — Team Okafor and Team Noel, Team Hinkie and Team Colangelo.

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Looking at the two players, first and foremost I see two outstanding basketball players who have worked hard to get to be where they are today. Their journey didn’t start just last year, although many of us didn’t start observing until then. It’s been a lot of hard work that has pushed them to this point.

Secondly, I see two very different players who would each impact the Sixers in different ways — both largely positive.

Simmons is a playmaker and has incredible ball handling. He can muscle his way to the hoop, but can’t really space the floor with his shooting. His passing and rebounding both look like they could easily be fine-tuned to be elite. He has an NBA body and is already solid physically.

Ingram is a player who probably can’t create for other players as much as Simmons, but he can shoot and score just as well. He has a nice 3-point shot that would provide solid spacing for the cast of big men that the Sixers have on their roster. He also has great length which would allow him to defend opponents well.

For each, though, there is one major deficiency.

For Simmons, it’s his inability to make shots away from the hoop. Simmons scored a lot this season, but rarely did he score anywhere but at the rim. He took just three 3-pointers all season, and made only one of them. An overwhelming majority of his made shots came at the rim. It was made clear that he wasn’t all that confident in his jumper.

Ingram, on the other hand, has a different deficiency. Ingram can shoot just fine — in fact, he averaged 41 percent from beyond the 3-point arc at Duke — but doesn’t have the physicality that an NBA player should have like Simmons. Ingram even said the word “skinny” followed him around as a kid.

So, each one has lots of good qualities, but one major flaw. Simmons can’t shoot, Ingram doesn’t have muscle. Both of these things will be focal points in each player’s personal training leading up to the draft and their first NBA season.

The good news is both of these things are very fixable. Simmons needs repetition in the gym on his shot, and Ingram just needs to up his diet and hit the weights (being slim coming out of college is a typical thing, just look at photos of Embiid in his Kansas days).

As far as who to choose goes with the top overall pick, the Sixers may need to weigh the deficiencies that clearly do exist. Figuring out which deficiency will be more fixable, which will be fixed quicker, and which will be a bigger problem should all be considerations when they decide which player to take with the top overall pick.

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For these two guys, it might come down to that. Since both are so skilled and good at so many things, you could go on and on comparing what they’re good at. Instead, comparing what they’re bad at and how that will impact the game could be beneficial to figuring all of this out, and determining which player is best to take with the top overall pick.